Ex-MLA Bimal Lochan Das gets jail term for loan fraud

Baripada: The Vigilance court here on Wednesday awarded former State legislator Bimal Lochan Das one year jail term and penalty in connection with a loan fraud in Baripada Urban Bank Co-operative Bank.

Sources said, the court has also penalised seven others for their involvement in the case.

Das had sanctioned lakhs of rupees to different persons during his tenure as the president of the Baripada Urban Co-operative Bank from 2003-2004. The financial irregularities came to fore after he stepped down from his post, sources added.

Police had registered a criminal case and filed a chargesheet against him after an audit team detected the irregularities during an investigation in 2005. The audit had found that Das sanctioned the loans violating the bank’s rules of business, and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines.

Das represented Baripada constituency in the State Assembly from 2004-2009 as a member of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM).